I own a few condos solely under my name and with loans in the Orlando area. I have HO6 insurance and an Umbrella policy to my name. I take care of the paperwork, finances, accounting, paying bills, finding tenants, creating the leases, interviewing tenants by phone/zoom, etc. (I do not live in Orlando, my retired father does)... and my father takes care of all the maintenance (repairs, hiring contractors for electrical, HVAC, roofing, etc.) as well as showing the property for leases, he is my hands and eyes there... all for free, I do not pay him a salary or any compensation, and he does not want one.
If there is ever a liability claim, would it affect me that my father is the one doing this work? Would it be covered by the insurance?
My understanding is that in Florida I do not need to hire licensed contractors to do regular routine maintenance (replace lamps, toilets, tiles, etc), is this true?
Is it illegal or not covered by insurance to hire a contractor that is not licensed (i.e. work/replace an AC/HVAC)?
How about when the contractor is operating under the license of another licensed contractor? (I see this a lot, for instance, a contractor operating and giving estimates under his name with the license of someone else even under the same corporation but the licensed one is nowhere). I.e. John Smith is licensed to do HVAC work with a dba to The-AC-Corp, you call The-AC-Corp and you get an estimate from James Miller and he does all the work and bills you under the The-AC-Corp with his name on the invoice. John Smith was never seen on the call or the work site. James Miller is not licensed anywhere.
I have considered creating my own Property Management LLC to do the work above and hiring my dad as an employee, however, I was told this would provide no benefit in terms of liability and it would just add costs and more taxes.
I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks in advance.
